The NHL playoffs have been very exciting in both the Eastern and Western conferences and after the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings battled against each other in Game 7 on Wednesday, the number one seed is through to play the defensing champions in the Los Angeles Lings in the conference finals.
One amazing thing that is going on in the playoffs this year is that for the second time in NHL history, the last four teams left are the past four Stanley Cup champions in the Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins. The four teams are the last four champions and the Blackhawks and Penguins are the number one seeds in their respective conferences, while the Kings are fifth and the Bruins are third. Both matchups are filled with stars like Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Quick and the Kings are looking to win their second straight Stanley Cup.
The Kings advanced after defeating the San Jose Sharks in Game 7 with two big goals from Justin Williams in the second period and after winning 2-1 they will play against the Blackhawks. Mike Richards and Jeff Carter were the leaders for the Kings through the playoffs and they will need to do the same again to defeat the Blackhawks, who opened the season with a record streak after the lockout. The Sharks got a goal from Dan Boyle in the third, but the team didn't get enough scoring in the final game and only had 16 saves from Antti Niemi. Jonathan Quick was fantastic again while making some very tough saves and ended up with 25 in the game.
The Kings won the Stanley Cup last season as the eighth seed and after the Blackhawks won the series LA will be on the road in the West finals like they were last season. Chicago rallied back from a 3-1 series deficit from the Detroit Red Wings and after a goal from Brent Seabrook that deflected off someone else past Jimmy Howard, Chicago went through.
The Blackhawks looked like they were able to break the 1-1 tie in the third period, but a double penalty was called and the game ended up going into overtime. Corey Crawford was huge in the extra period while making a few fantastic saves and while Jimmy Howard was also good, he didn't get the final stop and ended up with 33 saves after letting in the game winner. Patrick Sharp scored his seventh goal for the Blackhawks in the game, while star Henrik Zetterberg was the lone goal for the Red Wings.
The conference finals will start up on Saturday night with the Kings and Blackhawks starting up at 5pm, while the Bruins and Penguins will start at 8 pm.